KQED's The California Report

Without the Opera House, Long Beach Performers Get Creative The coronavirus has shuttered live performance venues and created enormous headaches for California's theaters, symphonies, and opera companies. That includes Long Beach Opera. Guest: Jennifer Rivera, Long Beach Opera executive director Kincade Fire Caused By PG&E Power Lines, Says CalFire State fire investigators have ruled that last fall's Kincade Fire in Sonoma County was caused by power lines belonging to Pacific Gas and Electric. Lily Jamali, KQED Judge Set to Uphold California's Ban on Private Prisons A federal judge in San Diego is set to allow parts of California’s ban on private prisons to move forward. The ban includes immigration detention centers. Max Rivlin-Nadler, KPBS With Visits Off-limits, Nursing Home Staff Step Up COVID-19 cases are surging again in California, calling into question the health and safety of some of our most vulnerable: the elderly. Benjamin Gottlief, KCRW Most Nursing Home Staff Know Co-worker Infected by Covid-19, New Poll Shows A new poll by the California Healthcare Foundation finds more than three quarters of the state’s nursing home employees say they know a coworker who’s had COVID-19, or are part of a staff with suspected cases. Former San Quentin Inmate Fights for Friends Still Behind Bars Adnan Khan got life in prison but was freed after 16 years thanks to a new law that challenged his sentence. He says the state is not doing enough to protect prisoners who are getting sick, and he’s calling on Governor Newsom and prison officials to step up. Sasha Khokha, The California Report Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Schools Will Remain Closed This Fall There are about 1,000 public school districts in California. And Tony Thurmond, the state’s top education official is acknowledging pandemic conditions have deteriorated to a point where many of them won’t have students physically present in classrooms this fall. Trump Reverses Visa Decision, Allowing International Students to Stay After intense blowback, the Trump Administration told a federal judge on Tuesday that it’s withdrawing a plan to strip international students of their visas if they’re enrolled only in online college classes this fall because of the pandemic. Reporter: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC California Sues Trump Administration Over Student Loan Relief The state of California filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Trump Administration eliminating the Obama-era “borrower defense” rule, which provides loan relief for students defrauded by for-profit universities. Reporter: Julie Chang, KQED Environmentalists Fight to List the Joshua Tree as Endangered The Joshua Tree is now at the center of a growing political dispute. Environmentalists want the state to add it to California’s endangered species list, but many property owners and desert communities are against that, saying it could hobble new development. Guest: Brenden Cummings: Conservation Director, Center for Biological Diversity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Testing Guidelines Priorotize Vulnerable Populations Californians are now facing long lines, limited appointments, and delayed results when they get tested for coronavirus. State health officials have announced new testing guidelines that will prioritize vulnerable populations as the state faces testing backlogs. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED 61 injured in Fire Aboard Navy Ship The Navy says that 61 sailors and civilians have been treated for minor injuries as a fire continues to burn on board the amphibious assault ship the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego. The fire started Sunday morning and it’s still unclear if the ship can be saved. Reporter: Matt Hoffman, KPBS Attorney General Closes LAPD's Inaccurate Gang Database The State of California maintains a massive database of gang members called CalGang. Law enforcement agencies use it to investigate gang-related crimes and they contribute names to it. Now California Attorney General Xavier Beccera is shutting down LAPD's entries to Cal Gang after investigations found many of the department's entries were false and inaccurate. Reporter: Jerome Campbell, KCRW Kern County Launches First-Ever Community Advisory Council The Kern County Sheriff’s Department is facing scrutiny. Following a month of discussions with community leaders the department has agreed to collaborate with a community-led advisory council. It will be the first of its kind for Kern county. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, Valley Public Radio Gym Owners Frustrated Over New Closures As coronavirus cases surge week Governor Gavin Newsom announced new shutdown orders for indoor businesses across the state. So what it’s like to own a business that has to close again? Reporter: Shannon Lin, KQED AB 5 Enforcement Begins With Mobile Wash Lawsuit Mobile Wash is a Southern California-based gig economy company that offers car washing services. Now the state’s Labor Commissioner’s office is suing Mobile Wash for misclassifying about 100 of its employees as independent contractors. Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED 100,000 Mail-In Ballots Were Rejected in CA Primary More than 100,000 mail-in ballots sent in by Californian voters in the March presidential primary were rejected, meaning those votes weren't counted. This news comes as California moves forward with plans to send mail in ballots to every voter in the state to use in the November election because of the coronavirus pandemic. Guest: Kim Alexander, President, California Voter Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Newsom Orders Statewide Shutdown As COVID Cases Rise If the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is a return to some sort of normal life, that light got fainter in the last 24 hours. With COVID-19 cases rising in the state, Governor Gavin Newsom has once again ordered all California counties to shut-down indoor activities at restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Central Valley Officials Expect Public Backlash to Shutdown Seven of the California counties that will have to once again shutter businesses are in the Central Valley. Elected officials expect there will be public backlash to the closures of businesses and churches. Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED L.A. and San Diego Schools Will Be Online This Fall California’s two largest school districts, Los Angeles and San Diego Unified, announced yesterday that students would not be returning to campuses next month because of the pandemic, instead instruction will be done online. Reporter: Kyle Stokes, KPCC Judge Denies Request To Extend Hospital Settlement Northern California hospital system Sutter Health says the pandemic is making it hard for them to pay off half a billion dollars in settlement money to the state, but a judge won’t extend the deadline. Reporter: Sammy Caiola, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LA County Residents Wait in Long Lines, Eager for Covid-19 Tests People in places like Los Angeles County are struggling to make appointments at often swamped coronavirus testing facilities. Many people at a testing city in the city of Long Beach lined up well before sunrise to make sure they could be tested. Guests: Maria Solis, Marta Miranda LA Unified Teacher's Union Urges Against Reopening Classrooms Right now, classes in the country’s second largest school district, the Los Angeles Unified School District, are supposed to start again in August. But the union representing L.A. Unified school teachers says campuses should remain closed because of the coronavirus. Carla Javier, KPCC With Inmate Workforce in Quarantine, State Races To Hire Firefighters California is hiring more than 850 seasonal firefighters to make up for fire fighting work done by prisoners, who are now in coronavirus quarantine. Julie Chang, KQED Support Groups Step Up as California Inmates Prepare for Release As many as 8,000 people are expected to be released from prisons across California to slow the spread of COVID-19. Support groups are filling in the gaps for the inmates who are going to need help to make this transition successful. Kate Wolffe, KQED Young Smokers Risk Severe Cases of COVID-19, Study Shows More young people are ending up in the hospital with Covid-19. And a new study says smoking is the biggest risk factor for young people who get really sick. April Dembosky, KQED Aslyum-Seeking Mother and Newborn Born in U.S Driven Back to Border An asylum-seeking mother was given the choice of leaving her new U.S. born child in this country alone or both of them returning to Mexico. Max Rivlin, KPBS The Potential and Perils of Antibody Tests There is some evidence the coronavirus was present in California before March when the state shutdown. But assuming you’re now immune to COVID just because you were sick early in the year with flu like systems is risky. Claire Trageser, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Santa Cruz Braces for Coronavirus Surge Health officials in Santa Cruz are preparing for a spike in coronavirus cases. The county's chief doctor says summer weather and beach season have contributed to the spread of Covid-19. Reporter: Hannah Hagemann, KQED Fire Officials Prepare for Wildfires Amidst Budget Woes Governor Gavin Newsom warned Thursday that the state faces a riskier-than-average fire year, following a dry winter and a hot early summer. Wildfire preparation this year has been complicated by the pandemic and resulting state budget shortfalls. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED San Francisco Assemblyman Slams State Agency with #EDDFailofTheDay California's Employment Development Department has been flooded with applications for unemployment benefits. But millions are still waiting for help. Assemblyman David Chiu and other state lawmakers have been documenting the agency's failure to respond on social media. Guest: Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) California Sues Feds Over On-Site International Student Requirements California is suing to stop a new Trump administration policy that bars hundreds of thousands of international students from staying in the U.S. if their schools go fully online in the fall. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED How We Got Here: New Series Looks At History of Gig Work COVID-19 has made clear how precarious so many peoples' life situations are across California and the country, and a lot of that uncertainty is linked to lacking support in the workplace. KQED's podcast The Bay is out with a new 5-part series looking into this. Guest: Sam Harnett, KQED The Black Panther Party's Unofficial House Band This week, the California Report's weekly magazine documents the rise and fall of an unlikely musical group born out of a period of social upheaval fifty years ago. Reporter: Sasha Khokha, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

L.A. Faces Testing Shortages as Cases of COVID Grow Los Angeles County remains the center of the state’s coronavirus pandemic four months in. The county has more than 123,000 confirmed cases so far. But even as the toll from the virus grows, it's gotten harder for many in the L.A. area to schedule appointments to get tested. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Stanford Eliminates a Third of Its Varsity Sports Here in the Bay Area, Stanford says its cutting nearly a third of its varsity sports programs due to financial strain from the pandemic. The school says the cuts will directly impact more than two hundred and forty students, and over forty staffing and coaching positions. Reporter: Marco Siler-Gonzalez, KQED Many Workers Welcome the Option to Work From Home Permanently For some workers, the pandemic is bringing about permanent changes. Case in point: Silicon Valley-based tech company Quora, the Q&A website, is giving all of its 200 employees the option to work from home even after this is all over. Guest: Adam D'Angelo, CEO Quora Sacramento Grapples With Police Reform Cities and counties all around our state are grappling with how to approach police reform. In Sacramento, that conversation has been taking place for two years, ever since the deadly police shooting of an unarmed Black 22 year-old named Stephon Clark. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio Vallejo Police Release Video of Deadly Shooting of Sean Monterrosa Police in the Bay Area city of Vallejo have released body camera footage from an officer’s deadly shooting of a man last month. The video doesn’t show what many were waiting for: Images of what Sean Monterrosa was doing before he was killed. Reporter: Ericka Cruz Guevarra , KQED Autopsy Reveals Details From Police Shooting In L.A. County In L.A. county another family is searching for answers after a loved one's death at the hands of Police. 18-year-old Andres Guardado was shot and killed by an L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy last month. Large public protests followed. Weeks later, an independent autopsy is giving Guardado’s familo some details about what happened. Reporter: Robert Garrova, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Regents Appoint First Black President to Lead UC System The University of California Board of Regents has elected its first Black president in its 152-year history. Former UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake will lead the 10 campus system that serves some 280,000 students. International Students Scramble Amidst In-Person Requirements Colleges and universities all across California are grappling with how to meet new federal guidelines for the fall semester. Those guidelines require international students to take at least a portion of their classes in-person. Reporter: Benjamin Gottlieb, KCRW Covid-19 Response Could Make TB Harder To Contain Los Angeles County’s top doctor is worried that the fight against the coronavirus could jeopardize decades of hard won gains in the battle against tuberculosis. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC How Geography Shapes Access to Covid-19 Testing Depending on where in California you live, it may be harder to get a COVID-19 test than it was a few weeks ago. Some counties still don’t have enough lab space, or test kits, or funding to keep up. Reporter: Sammy Caiola, CapRadio Most Californians are Anxious About Reopening More than three quarters of Californians are worried that they or a family member will get COVID-19, according to a new poll by the California Health Care Foundation. Imperial County Hit Hard by Pandemic Imperial County has the highest rate of cases and a shortage of ICU beds. Some patients have had to wait for a bed for as long as three days. Officials have transferred hundreds of patients to facilities outside the county to get treated. Guest: Ana Ibarra, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COVID Outbreak Shuts Down California Assembly A coronavirus outbreak in the state Legislature has indefinitely delayed the Assembly’s return to work from a scheduled summer recess. Speaker Anthony Rendon’s office says five people who work there have tested positive for COVID-19. Reporter: Angela Corral, KQED Governor Says San Quentin Outbreak is a 'Top Concern' After weeks of criticism over the state’s handling of a massive COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin State Prison, Governor Newsom said it’s one of his top concerns. The governor said the population at the over-crowded facility has been reduced since March, adding that his office is looking at other ways to move vulnerable people out. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED Lawmakers Call for Halt to ICE Transfers During Outbreak Dozens of state lawmakers are calling on the Governor to stop California prisons from transferring people to federal immigration detention during the pandemic. The coronavirus has sickened thousands in state prisons and immigration detention centers. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Davis Peak Name Change Mired In Bureaucracy Monuments to controversial historical figures are being removed essentially overnight across the nation, including here in California --following impassioned demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice, but that’s not the case with every landmark. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PG&E is out of bankruptcy. The utility entered into Chapter 11 in January 2019, weeks after the Camp Fire, which killed 86 people and wiped out much of the town of Paradise. A California State University, Chico, study has been mapping out where survivors of the wildfire ended up. A cluster of around 20 people had moved in and around Crossville, Tennessee, a town of just 12,000 people. Reporter: Lily Jamali, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices